Wisdom of the Soul
by Exemia
Summary: Of traversed worlds and unknown lands, two must help repel demise. Through lessons learnt and hardships past, only then will the soul grow wise.
1. Derailed

**Okay people, here's the revised version of Wisdom of the Soul, chapter 1.**

**I don't own Naruto or its characters, I only own my OCs.**

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Wisdom of the Soul

Summary: Of traversed worlds and unknown lands, two must help repel demise. Through lessons learnt and hardships past, only then will the soul grow wise.

Chapter 1: Derailed

Wind, bitter and freezing, blew across the urban cityscape. The strong winds made a small fraction of those walking among it shiver, burrowing further into their coats and huddle closer to gain warmth. Lights from the still open shops illuminated the concrete streets along with the neon signs situated above. The sky was such a dark hue of blue it was almost black, the crescent moon and few stars littered about minutely accessorizing the night.

Good old English winter nights.

Me and my friend, Dominic had just exited the city centre market as it was now closing. Having spent the last couple of hours browsing and buying things like films, comics, games or other stuff we wanted, which wasn't a lot considering the stupid prices and how much money we actually had on us. To start a conversation, I asked,

"So what did you buy then, Dom?"

"Not much. A couple of stand-up comedy DVDs, would've bought somethin' else but I need me change to get back om. What about you, what did you buy?" He answered.

"A load of sketchbooks and some pencils. I should actually stop buying 'em for a while, I've got so many sketchbooks at om that I'm runnin' out of space to put 'em. I 'ant even managed to fill **one** yet!" I replied. He laughed and responded,

"I'm sure you'll think of things to draw in no time, you're awesome at drawin'." I smiled a little at his compliment. I'm good at drawing but I'm nowhere near as good as professionals. Mind you, it's part of the learning as you go process as well as practice makes perfect.

"Heh. Thanks for the compliment dude."

The lights changed from green to yellow to red, allowing us to cross the road to the other side. Another strong gust of wind pushed against everyone, being used to this kind of weather all our lives made it easy for us Brits to ignore most of the cold though it seemed to be getting slowly colder with each passing year. Not that I hated it, in fact, I prefer winter over summer (technically it's late autumn now but still).

Walking at a leisurely pace, we stayed in silence for a moment before I decided to speak again.

"Ey Dom, ya wanna catch the tram om with me or ya catchin' a bus?"

"Nah, I'll catch the tram with ya, least it'll gimme someone to talk to on the way back. Besides, I'll be catchin' a bus when we get to your town anyway." Dominic answered, I nodded and focused my sight on the tram stop further down the sloping road, the two sets of tracks leading down to the small platforms.

_BONNNG!_ Went the bell of the Council House city hall, the sound piercing through the dark, almost empty streets. The bell tolled five more times, each ring sounding as the previous one had died down. Six times it rang, indicating to us that it was seven o' clock exactly. By the time the sixth toll ended, me and my friend made it to the tram stop while looking at its digital timetable; the tram would arrive in two minutes. Until then the two of us just waited in comfortable silence. I also took this spare time to stuff my bought goods into my black satchel with the other items already in there.

The sound of whirring notified awaiting passengers that the tram was now pulling up to the platform, slithering smoothly along its tracks, headlights shining the path in front of it as it gradually slowed to a stop. All doors on the accessible side of the tram opened with their usual trio of beeps, we patiently waited for anyone who wanted to get off to exit first, which amounted to very few, before we entered. Most of the seats in the part where the two of us were had been taken by other passengers so we just stood, Dominic had grabbed one of the leather loops hanging above his head to hold on to while I decided to lean against the yellow pole that connected the floor to the ceiling of the more spacious parts of the transport. Once everyone had boarded there was a long beep before the doors slid shut again, a 'ding!' followed shortly after with the tram beginning to move again.

It was silent for the first few minutes of the journey home but it was interrupted by the vibration in my coat pocket. I took out my iPhone and read the caller ID; it was Mum. I pressed the green button on the screen to answer.

"Ayup Mum." I greeted quietly, partly because of my nature and partly because I didn't want to disturb the other people on the tram.

"Ayup, darlin'. Did you and Dom have a nice time with your little outing?" She asked, I glanced over at my friend to see him bringing his mobile up to his ear, apparently he was talking with his mum also.

"Yeah, we had a nice time." I replied honestly. "We're.. we're just on the tram back om naah, should be abaaht 15 minutes." On mum's side of the phone I could hear some voices I instantly recognised - the high-ish tone of my little brother, the cheery voice of my sister and the reverberating baritone of my older brother - he must be visiting.

"Alright then, babeh, I'll see ya in a bit. Love you~" She said and I replied,

"Love ya too, tell Kai 'n that lot that I love 'em anorl." I heard Mum repeating what I'd said to my siblings to which I could hear them saying 'I love you's in the background. The corners of my mouth pointed up for a moment before falling back into a neutral line. After a final 'see ya' I finished the call and placed my phone back in my pocket, and it looked like Dodo was finishing up his chat as well.

A computerised voice spoke from the tram telling us which stop we were at, I checked the map above one of the doors and found that we were now at the halfway point.

"Whatya gonna do when ya gerrin, Dodo?" I asked, striking up a conversation again.

"Watch some more films, play some video games 'n most likleh read Alicia a book. If she's still up that is, daaht it though. Ya-sen?" he answered.

"Same. Just gonna chill, watch some anime 'n play video games." Dominic laughed quietly and said,

"Just a normal nerd's night in then, eh?" I chuckled back at him with a nod.

There was a huge jolt that caused us and everyone else on the tram to jump out of their skins and sway with startled murmurs and yelps. I had instantly grabbed on to the metal pole I was leaning against to steady myself while looking at Dominic to see if he was alright. He still a grip on the leather loop above him, he looked fine, just a little shaken like everyone else. Then the shaking began. The connected carriages began to violently tremble as though an earthquake was happening, people started screaming trying to grab anything for purchase, some managing to latch on to the other leather loops and yellow bars within the tram while others tumbled to the floor.

_SKREEEEEEEEEEEEE!_

That metallic sound pierced my ears, made me inwardly cringe as I struggled to keep my usual calm, poker face. There was another jolt bigger than the last and more screams erupting from the passengers, the lights began to flicker on and off erratically as the carriages began to tilt. A harsh sway to the left made me smack my face into the pole I was clinging to, making me bring a hand to the hit area with a pained grunt. Then another to the right **would've** thrown me against the window had Dominic not grabbed the sleeve of my coat.

"You alraht, Aims?" He questioned worriedly, a look of fear flashing across his face. I nodded with wide eyes, unable to say anything as my voice caught itself in my throat. Reaching out a hand, I held on to the vertical bar with as much strength as I could. My heart was thrumming harshly against its bony prison as I began to panic.

_"This can't be happening. I don't want to die.. I-I... I want my dad, I want my mum! I JUST WANT TO BE BACK HO-!"_ My thoughts were interrupted when there was a loud crash, and it sounded really close. Though my sight was shaking as much as the tram, I turned my head to the source of the sound, I didn't think my eyes could get any wider.

The carriage behind us was tipping over, people sliding to the side hitting the glass with sickening cracks and fearful cries. As its weight finally brought it down, the part me, Dom and a few others were in began doing the same. It seemed as though the vehicle was turning at a curved part of the tracks as the tipping and gravity happened quicker than the previous carriage. The sudden transition made me lose my grip once again, this time my friend lost his hold on the loop and fell with me.

The lights had completely shut off, a surge of pain rushed through my back and head, there was a cracking sound behind me and a heavy weight slammed into my chest winding me. Despite the dizziness from my head, I could tell this part of the tram was still turning. The sounds of glass breaking, metal crunching and terrified screams filtered through my ears, the last things I heard before blacking out.

And my last thought was,

_"Why us?"_

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**Okay not much of a difference, only a change in the activity and respelling in our dialogues. And yeah, I changed the summary and tried to make it into a little rhyme but I'm not sure of it was very good.**

**First chapter's up, second one should follow in suit quite soon depending on how busy I am.**

**Don't write flames in the reviews, please give civil comments like everybody else.**


	2. Betwixt

**Okay, second revised chapter is up! *throws confetti* '*'**'* \\(OwO\\)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters, I only own my OCs.**

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Chapter 2: Betwixt

When I opened my eyes, all I could see was fog. White and grey swirling around each other. With a grunt I propped myself up on my hands, my arms shook as soreness rushed through my body, most prominently on my back. The strap of my satchel pressing against the sore spot due to the extra weight. I looked around, it was desolate, no one else in sight.

"Wh-Where am I?" I asked no one in particular, a slight echo repeated my words to me. To my surprise, someone did answer me and it was a voice I knew.

"No idea, mate." Dominic answered. I sat on my knees and scanned around for my friend. "Up 'ere." Following his direction, my eyes turned upwards and there he was - although I had to quirk an eyebrow at him and gaped a little. He was floating above me, breast stroke swimming in circles whilst looking down with a grin. "Ayup."

"'Ow the Hell did ya become Peter Pan?" I joked as I stood. He snorted and started moving his arms as if he was a bird, 'flying' around in different patterns at a slightly faster pace.

"Since I woke up 'ere. If only scientists could see this place, they'd probleh have meltdowns tryin' to debunk this with logic." He answered. I chuckled at the mental image of people in white lab coats standing here and ending up with their heads exploding as they tried to think of an explanation for us being able to levitate.

"You two are taking this situation quite well." A new voice commented. I jumped a little and sharply turned to find the source of the voice.

A tall man - probably 5'9", was staring at us with a calm expression. He had long black hair tied into a mid-high ponytail with some shorter bangs framing his face, amber coloured eyes and he looked rather young. The man wore a pair of white hakama with a matching kimono-like garment, a red sash tied around his waist, wooden zōri on his feet, and necklace about his neck with six magatamas on the cord. They looked like they were made from some sort of gemstone but I couldn't tell what. The fog around us obscured him a bit.

A stranger who is older, taller and no doubt stronger than me? Shyness and intimidation washed over me so I took a few slow steps back. Dominic swam back to the mist-covered floor, he questioned the adult standing before us.

"Oo are ya and whaddya mean by 'situation'?"

"You may call me Kami," He answered. "and by situation, I mean the accident you were in."

Accident? Then I remembered. The tram derailed! I tried holding on to the bar but my hand slipped, then I crashed into something then something heavy landed on me and... that was all I could recall. Glancing at my friend, I could tell he must have remembered too.

"S-So.. where are we?" I asked nervously, already not liking the answer we could get.

"You are in a plane between worlds." Boy, is that one of the most cryptic answer one could get.

"What, you mean like purgatory or somethin'? A-are we.. dead?" I asked, gulping nervously.

"No. This is just a place in between different worlds, not the afterlife. I brought you here before too much damage was done." We were in shock to say the least, not knowing what to make of it. My friend spoke after finding his voice.

"Well uhh.. thanks er, Kami."

"You're welcome."

"Um.. think you wouldn't mind putting us back?" Dominic asked pointing behind to nowhere in particular. The taller man blankly stared at us for a moment before answering.

"I would mind, actually."

"Why the bloody hell not?" Dom asked indignantly with a frown, tensing a little. I stood and took everything he had to say calmly.

"I'm going to send you both to a world where there are people who need help in more ways than one, and you have to help them in any way you can."

"Wait! Why us? Why not someone else?" He shrugged.

"Well, there's no real reason as to why I chose you two. You two were saved by chance, but I think it might be interesting to see what sort of impression you could make on the people of this world. Especially those who will suffer." I was confused by this so I hesitantly raised my hand to get his attention. His amber eyes turned to me.

"W-Whaddya mean 'those who will suffer'?" Kami turned on his heel and walked a few paces away from us before stopping.

"As I said, there will be people who will suffer in the years to come and I'm tasking you to aid them."

"Okay, we'll help just as long as we can get out of 'ere." Dominic announced. The black-haired male turned back to us with a small grin.

"Excellent. While there will be many hardships for you to face in the future, I will grant you a few perks to help you both survive in these new lands. But when I send you there, you'll be very vulnerable and on your own from the moment you arrive. Understood?" Okay that sounds a bit daunting but we nodded nonetheless. "Good. Are there any requests you want before I send you on your way?" One immediate thing crossed my mind and I took this chance to express it.

"Can.. Can you send my pet with us, p-please? I-I can't leave him all by himself and, n-not that I don't trust my family but, I'm the best to sort out his food and everythin'..." The man nodded and asked,

"Anything else?" I shook my head as a 'no' and silence followed soon after. "Alright then, farewell and good luck to the both of you."

A bright light surrounded us, I felt myself becoming more light-headed and not long after everything went blank

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**Well that's that for the new chapter 2 (heheh.. that rhymed =w=). And as for these "perks".. don't worry about 'em, there's not a lot and they're not gonna make the characters Mary/Marty Sue/Stu's.**

**Tarrah! :3**


	3. Strange New World

**CHAPTER 3 AND CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS! A full three weeks off from college! :D Sorry that this chapter is short but I want to space out this whole strangers in a new land (in this case, world) situation across a few chapters before the characters figure out where exactly they are.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.**

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Chapter 3: Strange New World

My senses were slowly coming back to me as I regained consciousness, I only saw darkness but I could hear sounds around me. The sounds were birds chirping and leaves rustling, a breeze flew over me making me shiver and frown a little. I opened my eyes to see blurs of green, blue and white, after blinking a couple of times my sight returned to its clear state. Bright green leaves swayed gently as the clouds slowly drifted by.

I propped myself up on my elbows and looked around. Surveying the scenery told me that wherever I am, this apparent 'new world' was exactly the same as ours. Same blue sky, same green grass, same everything. It just seems that we're in a countryside somewhere.

_"This doesn't seem too bad."_ I fully sit up and look around again, a dirt road was a few meters away from me and the tree I was sitting near seemed to be the only one around. It's a nice environment but I wasn't very comforted by it, I wanted to know where I was.

A loud yawn makes me snap my head to the right, my eyes widen at the person next to me. A young boy who looks no older than four or five lies beside me, he has really short dirty blonde hair and fair skin, and he has clothes but they're far too big with the way he looks like he's sinking into the recesses of the black coat. Hang on... those are Dominic's clothes! He sits up and rubs his eyes before opening them to look around.

"Bloody 'ell, me 'ed." He groaned as he pressed his hands to his head.

My mouth opened and closed a few times before actually uttering something.

"Dom? Y-Y-You alright?" I jolt at how my voice sounds higher and softer, not so much at the latter since I've never had a strong, loud voice. He turns to face me and leans back in surprise. He stares at me for a moment before replying.

"Flippin' 'eck! Aimée, is that you?" I nodded and replied back.

"Yeah, it's me! But why do you look like a five-year old?"

"I was about to ask the same thing!" At his statement, I look down at myself to find that my clothes are oversized too. I flex my now small hands, why have we been turned into children? Was this what Kami meant when he said we'd be very vulnerable? I'd have thought we'd be vulnerable in the first place since we're in an unknown land but now we've had our ages reversed? Why? What was the point in him doing that? My body tenses a little, already feeling stressed about all of this and I decided to put the questions aside for now.

I notice that there is a strap over my chest, I follow it to find it connected to my black satchel that still looked full. I pull it towards me and throw the front flap over the main zip and open it up. I breathe a sigh of relief to find that all my stuff is still there. Sketchbooks, pencil cases, notebooks, colouring pencils, they're all still intact. Then I open the zipper on the flap to find the other items I had with me remaining the same too; scissors, masking tape, sticky notes and a few paintbrushes.

After zipping everything back up I hear rustling and see my friend rolling up the legs of his trousers so they reached his ankles, tightening the belt around the waistline and sorting out the rest of his clothing so they would at least try to keep him covered. Figuring that to be a good idea, I copy him as best as I could. After buttoning up the top buttons of my coat and adjusting the length of the satchel's strap a new noise is heard.

"Maaaa!" That sound.. It's a higher pitch but I recognise that particular cry anywhere! I spun in the direction it came from and found the source, I grin widely. Standing there, looking up at me with big chartreuse eyes is a black kitten with white paws, a white throat, chest and belly, and a white nose and left lip.

"Toot-tooooot!***** Sooty~!" I call. Instantly, the kitten plods over to me and mews up at me again. This is definitely my cat, alright. That Kami person really did grant my request. I pick him up to cuddle him and give him a good scratching behind his little ears, he purrs and leans into my touch. I smile fondly at my pet.

"Looks like your cat got turned into a kid anorl. Well, a kitten." Dominic commented as he walked up to me.

"Mhmm. W-What should we do now?" I ask calmly, even though I was worried. I watch as he scans the area again, stroking an imaginary beard in thought.

"Well, first thing we should do is find shelter, or a town if we're luckeh. That way we won't be as exposed if we had to sleep out in the open." That sounds like the best thing to do right now.

"Alright but first, left.. or right?"

"Let's close our eyes and point at random, if we point in the same direction then that's where we'll go." I nod and set Sooty down to face my friend. He closed his eyes and I do the same. "On the count of three. 1. 2. 3!" We point in a direction and when I open my eyes I see a problem, and Dominic sees it too. Our fingers were pointing in opposite directions, mine to the left and his to the right. We stared at each other. "...Best two out of three."

We repeated this twice before reaching a decision. In the second round we pointed in opposite directions again, but the third decided for us; we both pointed to the right.

"Looks like we're goin' this way then." Dominic said. Before setting off, I hook the strap of the satchel over my shoulder which almost brings me to the ground, as well as earning a surprised 'oomph!' from me. The weight! It feels a lot more heavy now but it shouldn't weigh **that** much. But now that I think about it it's logical, I was stronger and able to handle more weight when I was bigger. Great.

"You alright?" Dominic asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just surprised by how heavy this is now." I assure before straightening up and picking up Sooty who was sitting patiently on the grass. He gestures with his head to the direction we decided on and I nod, we set off to find whatever shelter we could find and hopefully some clues about where we are.

This place shouldn't be too different from home. ...Home. Was my family worrying about me? Probably, I'm the reserved one so they worry for me the most. Has news of the crash reached them yet? If so, they must be going into a panic. But... if Kami said that he saved us then.. we won't actually be found at the crash site, we just disappeared. That's some comfort at least but not really a lot. Our bodies might not be there but they will probably think we've gone missing or have been kidnapped or something. I wonder if Dom's thinking about these things as well.

_"*sigh* What a mess..."_

I have to push those thoughts away and concentrate on now. Keep walking, we just have to keep walking for now.

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***That was meant to be the whistle I make to call my cat.**

**And that's chapter 3 done and dusted. I hope I can upload more chapters over the Christmas holidays but it depends on how long it takes to write out certain scenes and plan out the future chapters. As you can probably see, I tried writing in the first person perspective using the past tense but I'm not sure if I'll keep this up or revert back to using present tense.**


	4. Earning

**Chapter 4 is up and running :) I've been writing in first person so far but I've been contemplating that I might change it to third simply because it's been ages since I've written in third person, plus I feel that it might help me churn out these chapters quicker and so I can expand on my vocabulary.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OCs.**

**Bold text = Different language.**

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Chapter 4: Earning

I don't know how long we've been walking but it felt like forever, still just walking down this dirt path that was practically deserted. I'm a little more relaxed thanks to the quiet serenity of the scenery, was a bit bored though so me and Dominic eventually started a game of Eye Spy. It's his turn.

"I spy with my little eye something.. green."

"Grass."

"Yep, your turn."

"I spy with my little eye something.. black."

"Your coat."

"Nope."

"Your clothes."

"No."

"Satchel?"

"Nope. Give up?"

"... Yeah."

"Sooty!" I reveal, reminding him of my kitten's presence. He looks at the small animal in my arms then at me and bluntly says.

"That doesn't count." I frown and stare, asking.

"Why doesn't it?"

"Sooty's black AND white. If you're spying something it has to be one solid colour or you have to say if it has more than one colour, therefore it doesn't count." He explains.

"Since when was that a rule in Eye Spy?" I ask indignantly, my voice raising a little in pitch.

"Since.. a few years ago!"

"Come off it, you're just tryin' to make up rules now. Besides, I said only one colour because then it would've been too obvious and easy for you to answer. Your argument is invalid." Our friendly debate was cut short by a new voice.

"**Nē, kodomo!**" We stop and look to see who's speaking to us. It's a guy on top of a horse-driven hay wagon, he looks like a farmer. "**Anata no ryōshin wa doko ni iru?**"

"Err... Sorry mate, but we don't speak Japanese." I explain, knowing fully well that he wouldn't understand me. As expected, the farmer's face was one of absolute bewilderment with his eyes wide and mouth agape slightly.

"Uhh.. I-I uh.. **M-Mura desu ka**?" I ask hesitantly whilst pointing down the path in the direction we are walking. I only know very limited Japanese phrases and quite a few words, I know that 'mura' means 'village' or 'town' so I hope the question gets our intent across. The man snaps out of his perplexed state and nods slowly, he points in the direction I was pointing and spoke again, I think he was trying to give us directions.

"A-Arigatou." I bow my head in thanks and gesture for Dominic to continue on our way.

"Well that was.. awkward. What do you thinking he was asking us?" The blonde asked.

"Dunno. But at least we got some directions to a town."

"Was that what you asked him?" I nodded and he gave a hum of interest and acknowledgement.

"Did you understand what the directions were?"

"I.. have no idea what he was tellin' us."

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We finally reached a village after another few minutes of walking, I breathe a sigh of relief once we passed the first couple of buildings and decide to take a look around. There were some small, modest looking houses and shops lining the streets, a few tall metal, wired poles dotted here and there, I think I even see an apartment in the distance. The townspeople went about their daily business, adults chatting, kids running about, the usual stuff. A couple of things I notice that are different about everyone was their sense of fashion, some wear what seem to be more modern clothing while others wear more traditional kimonos, despite this they all wore zori sandals.

_"Hn. This all looks familiar somehow.. but I can't place where."_ Oh yeah, the other thing I noticed was that from what I could pick up from other people's chatter, they all seem to be speaking in Japanese. Okay.. so are we in Japan? I shift Sooty in my arms as I dart my head in different directions of the town, still taking everything in. We gather a few odd looks from some people, probably because our clothes were too big eventhough we tightened them as best as we could. My attention diverts when Dom tapped me on my shoulder.

" 'Ere, look at this coin." He said while holding a coin between his thumb and index finger. I take the coin from him and study it, it was dirty but I could see the lighter silver in spots, it had a hole in the centre and the number 50 engraved on it.

"This is a 50 yen coin.. at least I think it's yen, the symbol's different though."

"Okay so what does that mean?"

"It means that wherever we are, the currency here must be Japanese. Which means whatever money or bank cards we 'av with us are worthless 'ere."

"Oh. ...Crap." Dominic said upon realising the situation. Great, now we're in a strange place, no idea where we are and now no money.

_"Thanks, Kami."_ I think sarcastically, silently cursing the man for dumping us here. Then I realise another problem.

"'Ow are we gonna get food? Our currency's no good 'ere so 'ow are even gonna make any money?" I ask, fairly worried about the situation. Dominic looks at the ground in thought, he walks over to a building and I follow. At least we're not in people's way now.

"Hmm... Uhh... I suppose we could go find a place to work like in a cafe or somethin' but I don't think people are gonna want to hire kids who can't speak Japanese, so. ...We could always try busking." That's a new word.

"...What's busking?"

"It's basically street performing." Well, you learn something new everyday. Although I'm not particularly sure about actually performing.. in public.. the very notion making me shudder.

"I.. I-I suppose I could sing for money e-eventhough I'm not very good."

Dominic leapt into a nearby alleyway and after a lot of clanging he came back out with a chipped porcelain bowl and a ratty old blanket. The smell of it makes my nose wrinkle as I look at the different patches of stains dotting the material. He set the blanket at the corner of a building where plenty of people where passing by.

By now a couple of people had stopped to look at what we were doing out of curiosity, their stares and whispers were starting to make me uncomfortable. I stepped on to the blanket and set down my kitten and satchel, I sighed a little at the extra weight being eleveated. As Sooty makes himself comfortable I gaze at the few people who stopped to watch ...I don't think I can do this.

"No. I'm not doin' this!" I muttered to him.

"C'mon Aims, you have to! We at least have to try because it's either that or sit and think of something else. And if that doesn't work then we'll have to steal."

Steal. That word caused me tense up immediately, any word that's associated with a crime leaves a bad feeling in my stomach.

"I don't wanna steal.."

"Neither do I, but that'll be our last resort if we don't try somethin' soon." He whispered.

"B-But I'm not used to singing in front of people, even my own family because I'm scared I-I'll mess up the song."

"It doesn't matter if you don't get the right pitch on some notes, all we have to worry about right now is earnin' money somehow. Just be confident and take your time." 'Be confident', not exactly my strong point, far from it actually. I whisper some words for to tell the people gathering and he steps forward with the chipped bowl, gesturing with it.

"**Tomodachi utau! Utau okane!**" He repeats before placing it in front of himself. He walks back to me and asks in a hushed tone.

"So what song are ya gonna start with?"

"Well I do know quite a few in Japanese.. but which to pick?" I mentally scroll through all the Japanese songs I know (even if some are just dubs of the English versions) and try to pick out one to sing. I glance at Dom and say, "I know which to start with." Here goes nothing, I clear my throat and time myself in.

_"__**Ne ne papa wain no choudai?**_

_**Ne ne mama, ne ne mama**_

_**Rukashi no tabeta boroneezu no**_

_**Ano wasurerarenain da ra.**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Boku Hetalia!**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Jittomite chikyuu,**_

_**Hyottoshite chikyuu,**_

_**Boku Hetalia!**_

_**Aah, hitofude de,**_

_**Mieru subarashi sekai,**_

_**Nagagutsu de kanpai da,**_

_**Hetalia!**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Boku Hetaria!**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Hatto shite chikyuu,**_

_**Funzori kaette chikyuu,**_

_**Boku Hetalia!**_

_**Aah, hitoyude de,**_

_**Nakeru shiawase no reshipi,**_

_**Yume no chakku zenkai da!**_

_**Hetalia!**_

_**Hei hei fratello pasuta wo choudai,**_

_**Tsuide ni sorella yude toite kudasai,**_

_**Oi oi nono hewa ga ee wa,**_

_**Haihai bambino,**_

_**Guigui papa wain mo choudai.**_

_**Ne ne mama, ne ne mama,**_

_**Rukashi no tabeta boroneezu no,**_

_**Ano wasurerarenain da!**_

_**Hetalia!**_

_**Hetalia!**_

_**Hetare Hetalia!**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Marukaite chikyuu,**_

_**Boku Hetalia!**_

_**Aah, hitofude de,**_

_**Mieru subarashi sekai,**_

_**Nagagutsu de kanpai da,**_

_**Hetalia!**_

_**Aah, sekaijuu ni,**_

_**Nemuru shiawase no reshipi,**_

_**Nagagutsu de kantan da,**_

_**Hetalia!**__"_

Shit. I can feel my face heat up at this very moment in the following ways - shyness, dread and embarrassment. It seems that a crowd has accumulated of both adults and children, people are staring at me and I lower my head to hide my red face.

_"Gods, this silence is deafening!"_ I whined in my head at the total lack of response. I know my singing is nowhere near professional level but I'm not that bad either, give a nineteen-year-old-turned-five some credit! The sound of clapping breaks my thoughts so I look up to find the crowd applauding with smiles, and I swear I heard a couple of **sugoi**'s here and there. Some stepped forward whilst rummaging through their pockets and purses, they something out and tip and throw them into the bowl with a chorus in clinks.

Money. They were actually giving us money! A small smile creeps on to my face as a little bit of excitement forms, and I admit even the tiniest bit of confidence. I glance at my friend who gave me a smile and a thumbs up. I took a deep breath and began another song.

I don't know how long we spent outside but it was starting to get close to sunset, so we decided to pack it in for the day. Good thing too, because my throat was dry, cracked a couple of times during songs and I was getting hungry. Our money bowl was filled with mainly silver and copper coins but we somehow managed to get a couple of notes too, not that I'm complaining. We count the money we earned and found that it amounted to 2150 yen.. whatever currency this was.

We both knew however that just because our earnings are in the thousands region doesn't mean that it's a lot. It might not be a lot, but at least we can buy some food for now. As we head off to one of the shops that were still open the only thing I could wonder right now is: where are we going to sleep?

* * *

_**Translations: Nē, kodomo! = **__Hey, kids!_

_**Anata no ryōshin wa doko ni iru? = **__Where are your parents?_

_**Mura**__Town/village_

_**Tomodachi = **__Friend_

_**Utau = **__To sing_

_**Okane = **__Money_

_**Italy's Marukaite Chikyuu = **__Go to the Hetalia wiki for the translation :P_

_**(Please note that I do have a limited Japanese vocabulary so I do realise that I may be making small or large grammatical errors. And admittedly, I was using Google Translate for longer sentences. If anyone out there is an expert in speaking Japanese, do you think you could help me out with sentences in the future?)**_

**Also bear in mind that these two characters are based off of me and my best friend and we have limited knowledge of Japanese vocabulary so the characters' Japanese speech is very broken for a reason.**

**So.. what did you guys think? I got the idea to have this world's inhabitants speaking Japanese and the outsiders speaking in their original tongue from the fanfiction 'A Play with Words' by XER9AF (which is a seriously good read and is quite funny, so I recommend it if you haven't read it). I'm not going to spend long on this little Street Performing Arc because I want to have the characters found out exactly where they are either after the next chapter or the one after that.**

**I'm aware that the currency in the Narutoverse is Ryo but I don't really know how it equates in real-world currency so I'm goin' by amounts in Yen.**

**2150 Yen equates to about £12.09. Not bad for the first time performers, but let's just chalk that up to luck.**

**A little something for you readers, so far I haven't specified or even given an inkling as to where abouts in the timeline this is set. So.. In what part of the timeline do you think I've landed my characters in? Leave your guesses alongside your reviews.**

**See ya :3**

**P.S. Sorry if a few tiny parts of the song lyrics are wrong or are missing.**


	5. Long Days and Realisations

**Alright you lot, I am back with another chapter. However, just because it's summer holidays now doesn't mean I'll be able to update because my tutor gave our class projects to do over the summer. It's not that bad, I suppose because all we have to do is find research for them and annotate each image. I've managed to get an early start on the projects and I'm already halfway through findin' research for one of the projects and found a few for the other. So I guess I'm doin' pretty well for the moment.**

**There was also a... passing of someone who was extremely close to me a few weeks ago so it's left me very distraught and emotionally exhausted. It's still hurting but I'm getting better, bit by bit.**

**As I said in the last chapter, I'm gonna be writing this chapter in 3rd person from. I also said that the characters would find out where they are after this chapter but I couldn't think of anything they could do apart from more busking, so they'll realise where they are in this chapter instead.**

**Anyway, on with the latest installment of Wisdom of the Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs and the plot of this fanfic.**

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Chapter 5: Long Days and Realisations

The sky was a gradient of dark blue shifting to light cerulean and peach, clouds tinted a light orange with a splash of pink as the sun began to rise. Birds sang as the first few rays of light shone on the small village. A peaceful visage in the early morning.

"Bloody 'ell, me neck!"

Well, almost peaceful. The complaint from an alleyway where three individuals had slept the previous night. It was a small blonde boy who made the pained outcry as he rubbed the side of his neck with a grimace. His female companion was no better off seeing as she'd used her large satchel as a pillow, her head tilted to one side as she rubbed her neck in pain too. She also had a slight headache because of the hardback sketchbooks in her satchel she had slept on. The third of their little trio mewed for breakfast, having slept comfortably the whole night.

"That was probably the worst sleep I've ever 'ad in my life." Aimée grumbled as she tried moving her head, only to recoil upon the soreness that flared up. Sleeping in an alleyway in an unknown village where any scum bag could do things to them, not the way either would have thought they'd have to do at any point in their lives. A low growl rang in their ears, the children looked at each other, "Was that yours or mine?" Dominic chuckled and replied,

"That was mine, it's about time for breakfast anyway." A second growl rang out not a second after he spoke. The brunette stared slightly wide-eyed before saying weakly,

"That was.. mine." With both stomachs growling, the two decide it'd be best to go find some breakfast. Aimée asked how much money they had leftover from buying last night's dinner as well as some water to go down with it. They boy looked around first before moving a bin aside to dig at the ground, scraping away dirt until white showed its way through. He pulled out a makeshift paper pouch that was twisted at the top, twirling the spiralled neck so that he could open the paper to reach the money that was kept inside.

Last night the two friends thought it would be a good idea to hide their money somewhere in case some low life tried to rob them while they slept. That idea made the girl tense as it reminded her to check her belongings, she opened all the zips on her coat and satchel to do an inventory check, she breathed a silent sigh of relief as everything was still there.

Once she had finished her check, Dominic piped up saying that they had 950 yen left. That immediately set them off and both came to the conclusion that they might have to budget their breakfast. Sooty mewed again, louder with the demand for food and rubbing against his owner's leg for emphasis.

"I know Soots, we'll go get food right now." She said as she placed her coat and satchel back on her person then bending to carry the black-and-white kitten. Aimée and Dominic began their trek to the same shop the purchased food from last night, the air was crisp and rather chilly. They saw the shop owner turning the sign over from inside, they couldn't understand the kanji but they assumed that it must now be open. They walked in and started scanning the shelves for food, picking what they could from the areas they could reach and grabbing a carton of juice each, and a sachet of cat food.

They returned to the counter, food and kitten in hand. The old man stared at them, glancing at the door then back the kids.

**"Anata no otou-san to okaa-san doko ni iru?" **He questioned in a hoarse tone.

"What's he askin'?"

"He's askin' where our mums and dads are." She replied quietly. Now this was tricky, how were they going to explain the whereabouts of their parents when they're in a world that's probably fictional to this fictional world? Let alone in Japanese? They didn't really want to answer but...

**"Uhh.. Wa-watashitachi no chichi to haha... u-um..."** Her sentence trailed off, with her limited vocabulary she couldn't explain their situation, not that anyone would believe them if they told the truth. Thinking back to some of the anime she's watched, she remembers a gesture some characters would sometimes make. Imitating what she's seen, she crossed her arms in front of her so they vaguely made an 'X' shape and shook her head slowly with a hopeless expression, still hoping the man would understand.

He seemed to have understood with the way his eyes widened before settling into a saddened expression. He said something they couldn't understand, handed back the purchases and gave them the change for their food. He also gave them a few sweets too.

At first the two were confused at this but the old man just smiled and 'shoo' motion at them. Not wanting to ask questions because hey, extra food for free, they thanked him and exited the shop to go back to the alleyway they stayed in. Dominic sat and immediately began to tear into the packets to get to the bread buns inside while Aimée carefully put her breakfast and kitten down to grab their money bowl. Despite the protest of using the bowl as the black-and-white cat's food bowl, the girl threw back that she would clean it out before they use it for collection again.

Nothing was said for a while as they ate but Dominic broke the silence.

"What did you tell that bloke about our parents?" The brunette glanced at him before turning her attention back to her food.

"... I-I tried telling that we don't have parents." The boy's head shot up with a somewhat perplexed look.

"What? Why'd you tell 'im that?"

"Wha- W-What was I suppose to tell him? That o-o-our mums and dads are in a different world and that we came here after.. being rescued from a tram crash by some guy who calls himself 'Kami'!?" She exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"Alright, fair enough! It does sound a bit conspicuous." They fell back into silence.

After eating their small breakfast they set up the blanket and broken bowl, ready for another day of busking. They now only had 300 yen left. Hopefully they could earn as much money as yesterday but they didn't start yet as the male of the children suggested that they wait until the afternoon when more people will out and about.

So they did just that.

"So. What should we do?" The question was unexpected.

"What? Do what?" Aimée asked, slightly confused.

"Should we just stay here permanently or should we keep moving till we get to another town?"

"...Dunno. We could stay 'ere but I don't think we'd do well with the busking thing, everyone would get bored of 'earing the same songs over and over again." Aimée said, weighing up their options. "But if we leave and go to another location then it might give us some more clues to where we actually are. And I know it's only been one day, but I already hate this having-no-home-of-my-own lark."

"Me too. But unfortunately we don't 'av much of a choice, we have to live like this whether it's temporary or permanent. There's also the stealing option."

"Err, no. We are not resorting to stealing, we're far above that. Certainly not gonna resort to begging either." That last part was mumbled more to herself. The young girl shoved her hands into her pockets with a huff, her and her friends conversation ended for now and just settling for watching the few early birds that were walking about. An eyebrow was raised though when her hand brushed against something cool with a rougher material wrapped around it. Blue eyes widening as she gasped softly, the child pulled the object out of her left pocket and upon seeing it a smile made itself known on her face.

She still had her phone! Earphones still attached too! Oh, she felt like wooping with delight but withheld for fear of drawing attention to herself. Instead she nudged Dominic's arm to get his attention, the boy looked at her raising an eyebrow at the grin. The poker face is what he's more accustomed to seeing on her so it was a bit unusual for him, until he saw the reason for the girl's smile.

"You still have your phone?"

"Thank the gods I do! Hey, you might still have yours, check your coat pocket!" At the suggestion, the boy reached into a pocket and did indeed find his own mobile to still be on him. They checked the state of their devices, they were both relieved and disappointed. Both had no circles as well as no arching bars in the top left corner, indicating that they had no signal or internet access. The battery symbols showed that they were fully charged however.

_"Odd... I swear my phone wasn't fully charge on the way back home."_

"...Well, at least we won't get too much of a technology withdrawal." Dominic joked. Aimée glanced at her friend, chuckling with a lopsided smirk.

"Haa... Better start with singin' then." Aimée sighed as she stood to reluctantly start the day's work.

Hours went by, the sun rising higher and more people came out of their homes to wander the streets. A young girl's singing could be heard by those who passed by, some stopped to watch and listen to the child's songs. Despite the attention they were attracting, people would only occasionally deposit money into their bowl and ignore them more than yesterday. When they decided to take a break they took this opportunity to count how much they had collected so far. 1100 yen. They'd managed to make a total of 800 yen from late morning to.. they checked the time on their phones - 4:34.

"Today has been so. Slow." Aimée groaned as she sat on the dirty blanket, absentmindedly petting Sooty who had taken a seat on her lap, purring quietly.

"Well, that is a downside to buskin'. Besides it's like you said, maybe the people here are getting bored after hearing the same songs over and over again. 'Av ya got any other songs you cold try singin'?"

"They only other songs I ant sung yet are all in English, but some of 'em are in other languages too. I don't think they'd want to listen to foreign songs."

"They might, you just 'av to chance it." The girl groaned in response. One of the things she didn't like doing was taking chances, she was better off sticking to what she knew and thought was safe.

"...Can you do anything? Y'know, any skills that can help with this street performin'?" She inquired. Her friend looked at his feet in thought.

"Umm... No." A frown appeared on the female child's face for a moment before an idea struck her.

"Wait. What if you made origami and we sold it?"

"I suppose that could work, we could sell 'em for.. I dunno.. 100 yen a piece? I haven't made origami in a while so it'll be fun to do some again." The dirty blonde-haired lad answered, he paused before asking, "Got any paper?"

Turns out the origami plan was a good success, they managed to sell quite a few and coupled with the villagers' interest in the brunette's new melodies in a strange language, the children managed to amass a bit more cash. The adults and children were quite taken with the paper animals the little blonde managed to produce, as well some origami swords and shuriken that were sold to some eager kids.

The amount they had now was at 2400 yen, managing to make as much as yesterday and a little more.

As the last of the villagers dissipated, a duet of rumbles escaped the two's stomachs.

"Alright, we managed to make a litte more than yesterday's buskin'! Now let's get some food, I'm starvin'!" Dominic proclaimed, standing up with a small grin.

"Alright, we need to get some more cat food for Sooty too."

"That cat's definitely a Taurean like us - absolute gluttons!" The two laughed at the true comment and began another walk to buy food when they bumped into something hard and moving. They stumbled back in surprise and looked up to see a man towering over their 3-foot stature. He was wearing some kind of flack jacket, dark coloured pants with a pouch strapped on to a belt and zori sandals like everyone else. He was carrying a large parcel wrapped in a light blue cloth.

The man quickly threw out an apology as he glanced down at the children to make sure they were alright. Once he saw that the two weren't crying or too scraped up, he gave them a small smile before heading off down the street. As he left, the duo stared after him, more so with Aimée as she stared with her mouth slightly agape. Words were lost as she took note of the adult's clothing. Particularly the blue bandana on his forehead.

"Dom, did you see the headband those guys were wearin'?" She finally asked.

"Yeah. I swear I've seen it somewhere before though. Oh yeah, isn't it from an anime?" He asked as he continued to stare at the grown man who was now talking to an old lady whilst handing her a package. The brunette's blue eyes widened as realisation dawned on her.

"Yeah. Bro, I think we're in the world of Naruto." There was a pregnant silence amongst them as this information sunk in.

"MEEEW!" Well so much for the tense atmosphere.

* * *

_**Anata no.. = Your..**_

_**Watashitachi = Our/We**_

_**Chichi = Dad/Daddy**_

_**Haha = Mum/Mummy**_

**Another chapter done and the trio have realised just what world they got dumped in. Okay, next chapter is gonna be (hopefully) another step towards the plot and the end of the Street Preforming Arc.. don't know if you can call two or three chapters as an arc but whatever XP**

**It felt so WEIRD writin' mine and my friend's name in 3rd person, even he said so after readin' it. So I think I'll go back to usin' 1st person.**

**Make sure to leave a review so I can be motivated to churn more spam- I mean,**** entertaining chapters. Tarrah :3**


	6. A Journey's Not Without its Troubles

**Warning: Very slight Orochimaru bashing.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but OCs and the plot.**

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Chapter 6: A Journey's Not Without its Troubles

Grass rustled beneath each step we took through the forest, morning sunlight filtering through the trees with insects chittering. The air was chillier than yesterday and the occasional brown or red leaf would fall from a tree.

It would've been a pleasant walk... if we weren't currently lost at the moment.

"Damn it all.." I whispered to myself. Alright, let me explain how we got into this situation. Right after we figured out that we were transported to the world of Naruto, which I'm not completely complaining about since I love the comics and the show, we had a long chat about what our next course of action should be.

_(Flashback)_

_"Ow can we be in the world of Naruto? Shouldn't this place not exist?" Dominic asked me quietly in disbelief, still stealing glances at the shinobi who was still talking to the old lady. I kept glancing over at the man too and answered,_

_"Well, apparently it does exist and I suppose that- that Kami bloke dropped us 'ere. Wait, what did he say to us before leavin' us 'ere?" My blonde friend stared at his feet in thought._

_"Wan't it somethin' about people who are gonna suffer? Are we supposed to help people?"_

_"Uh.. h-he said that.. that he wanted to see what kind of impression we could make on the uhh, people here 'especially those who will suffer in the future'. So I suppose we should be elpin' people but who could he m-" I cut myself off as a thought dawned on me._

_"What? What is it?"_

_"I've just had a thought. If he's told us to 'elp people, and we're in the shinobi world where __**certain**__ things are gonna 'appen that'll cause neg- negative effects on certain characters.. maybe we could do something to change the way things are going to 'appen."_

_"I don't think changing the future would be a good idea."_

_"What? Why not?"_

_"Have you heard of the Chaos Theory?"_

_"Of course I 'av! It's also linked to the butterfly effect, right?"_

_"Yep, so you know that the slightest change can end up making the biggest difference and how dangerous that could be." He said, more of a statement than a question. He sat with his arms crossed to look more stern._

_"Y-Yeah I know but.." my words trailed off, my mouth twitching into shapes as I thought for words to say. I sighed in slight frustration, knowing he was right but I still wanted to give a reason for why we should alter things. After staring at the ground for a good few moments, I looked back up at my friend who was still sitting there silently with a look of expectation. "I know that changing the future can be bad... but it can also make things better. Take Naruto for example, what's one of the things he's most well-known for?"_

_"Apart from being a loud, hyperactive child and an awesome ninja, he's got a demon sealed inside of 'im. Right?"_

_"Yeah, the Nine-Tailed Fox, but it's also that which causes 'im to suffer more than anyone."_

_"How so? To me, avin' a super strong beast sealed inside of ya sounds awesome!"_

_"You think that, and I think that," I agreed in a hushed tone, "but the people 'ere don't think that! Like you just said, the Tailed Beasts are seen as __**demonic creatures**__ 'ere and because of that they are all 'ated by everyone, especially if they're responsible for the deaths of friends and family and the destruction of homes. So even if the Tailed Beasts 'av been sealed away, people are gonna direct their anger towards the next best thing - the Jinchuuriki, their human 'owst." I explained, my hands moving to further emphasise my words. Dom sat listening intently throughout all of this, but I wasn't done yet. "That's why Naruto receives so much hatred from his own village, because he has the Nine-Tails sealed inside of him and the beast caused so much death and destruction the night he was born."_

_I was panting from my explanation, watching for a reaction from my long-time friend. He sat there with his eyes slightly wide, eyebrows creasing inward a little and mouth slightly ajar, like he was still trying to process the information._

_"So he's become the scapegoat?"_

_"Yeah but that wasn't the intention. The 4th Hokage sealed the fox inside of Naruto but before he died he asked the villagers to see Naruto as a hero for keeping the demon locked away." My brows creased into a frown. "But it looks like his own village didn't respect him enough to honour his dying wish. And y'know what the worst part is? Naruto's parents died that night too by protecting 'im from the fox. I understand that people lost loved ones that night, but out of all of 'em combined, Naruto's the one who's suffered the most.. and he was never told why."_

_"A monster attacks and so everybody blames 'im..." Now I've never seen any of my friends get mad before, and I'm not very good at reading emotions but with the way Dominic's face was scrunching up and turning a slight bit red, I could tell that he was loathing. Furious even. "Disgusting..!" He hissed. "How could they do that to a defenceless kid who had nothing to do with this? Especially if it happened on the night he was __**born**__!?"_

_Exactly what I thought the moment I read about it. My own rage bubbling inside as my nails bit into my palms, even through my info exchange I felt tense and angry recalling Konoha's attitude._

_"I know. Which is why I think we should try and divert some things from happening."_

_"Mmm... I still don't know if we should. I mean after earin' ya explain just 'ow bad some of the people 'ere 'av got it, it's mekkin' me wanna 'elp 'em." "Even if we do interfere with an event, what would we do if another were to 'appen and we didn't know how to prevent that one?"_

_"...I guess we'll just take it as it comes and plan what to do from there. Or we'll just 'av to be really meticulous about how we do things. Either way.. while we're 'ere, I intend to befriend Naruto, 'is friends and a few others. I've always been fond of the lil' knuckle-head and 'is misfit entourage. Oh, and think of how much fun it would be to mess with the people 'ere." I finished with a lopsided, mischievous smirk. The blonde contemplated for a few more moments before huffing with a smirk of his own._

_"Alright, fine. But if somethin' gets screwed up, I'm blamin' you."_

_"Technically, we'll both be to blame since Kami said we should be the ones to do so."_

_"Nope, you're the one who knows more about this place and the story than me."_

_"But I don't think I'd be able to do this by myself, so by default we're partners in crime." I snorted in amusement at our bantering before Dominic spoke up again._

_"But where do we go from 'ere?"_

_"I say... we should start 'eading for Kon- Konoha, if we go there then we.. we might be able to determine where we are in the timeline by seeing which characters are still alive and what ages they are. W-We'll figure out what to do next from there."_

_"And you can remember the events that 'appen 'ere?"_

_"Yep."_

_"Okay, then it's agreed. We'll try and change the future, for a better future." He held a hand out to me. I stared at it warily before hesitantly grasping it with my own and shaking it. The atmospheric build-up was disturbed by a loud growl, "But first, dinner."_

_(End of Flashback)_

So after packing everything up and using the last of our money to buy as much food as we could, with the shop keeper giving us some extra stuff out of generosity, we left the village earlier this morning to get a head start on the road to Konohagakure. Somehow we got it into our heads that going through the forest would be a quicker route. Hence why we are now lost in said woodland.

"Not the best idea we've had."

"Well, it could be worse." The blonde offered. Sooty fidgeted in the hood of my coat as I twisted my head to glance over at my friend.

"'Ow?"

"We could've been followed by something or encountered a bear."

"Don't say things like that! Thanks for mekkin' me feel slightly paranoid, mate!"

A heavy smell wafted in the air as the breaching beams of sunlight disappeared, I slowed my pace and sniffed around to determine what was causing the scent. It smelled familiar, like before a storm. Uh oh.

"Dodo, do you smell that?"

"Crap, it's gonna rain." Not ten seconds after this was said, it began to spit then it progressed to just slinging it down. Water droplets harshly fell through the canopy, beginning the process of soaking everything including us to the bone. I reached into my hood to pick up Soots and place him inside my coat to try and keep him dry, also so I could put my hood up.

We kept walking through the forest on our own straight path for a short while until we came across a hill, that was when a slight mishap happened. Because of how fast and hard the rain was pouring, the ground had quickly become slippery and that caused Dodo to lose his footing.

"WA-AAGH!" Dominic cried as he slipped, sliding on the wet grass all the way down to the bottom of the steep hill, only halting when a tree blocked his path. There was an audible thump as his small body collided with the trunk, a groan and an 'ow!' shortly following it. If this happened to anyone else I most likely would've found some humour in it, but since this was my closest friend I was more concerned.

My descent down was more stable thanks to careful foot placement, once I'd reached flat, horizontal ground I leaned forward to see him holding his shoulder with a slightly pained expression. I still kept my distance though.

"Y.. You alright, D-Dodo?" My usual stutter coming through once again. He looked up with a small smile despite it being laced with pain.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll get a bit of bruisin', but I'm fine." He replied in a joking tone before picking himself up. He turned and began walking forward then suddenly stopped. The blonde turned back with a grin and made a 'follow me' gesture with his hand, then jogging off to a very large tree a few metres away. I jogged after him, nearly tripping due to the wet grass and my satchel weighing me down. My breath was coming out in quick pants and my heart already thrumming like a jack hammer.

_"Guuh! I need to start exercising again!"_ I thought as I slowed my pace once I was near the boy. Now just to be clear, I'm not overweight or anything, I'm just very lazy and haven't felt the need to do much exercise apart from walking to and from college. Although, some might say that that's not much of an excuse but hey, it's my life. Anyway, back to now.

Dominic had found large hollow inside the tree's trunk, it looked spacious enough, there was a dug out crater in the ground but that made me apprehensive about getting my clothes dirty. I watched my friend crawl in and make himself comfortable before sitting next to him a few moments later. Having a makeshift shelter outweighed staying out in the rain.

Nothing was said as we all sat in the hollow, just watching and listening to the rain pour with Sooty in my lap, bigger drops of water falling from the leaves above. To save myself from boredom I pulled my phone from my pocket and unravelled the earphones to pop them into my ears. I entered the pass code, tapped the music icon and scrolled through the list of songs until stopping at the one I wanted to hear - The Legend Comes to Life (Lugia's Song for those who didn't know).

I stayed quiet for the opening flute solo while petting Sooty, even though we're lost and stuck inside this tree until the rain eases up, it was quite relaxing to watch the rain while listening to instrumentals. After about a minute in I began to whistle along with the music.

My eyes focused on nothing in particular as I felt myself zoning out, my mind becoming blank as I became more engrossed in the music. I was rudely brought out of my little world by a sharp jab to the shoulder, ripping the earphones out I snapped my head at the boy next to me.

"What?" I replied irritably, I hated it when someone was disturbing my enjoyment.

"There's someone out there!" He whispered and pointed to the outside. That shut me up, and got me to slowly and carefully crawl to the hollow's opening to see just who was out there. There was a figure approaching wearing a dark, hooded cloak, from what I could make out he had very white skin and golden eyes. When he was a few feet away I noticed black kohl around around his eyes, and that's what made me duck back into our temporary shelter.

The person stopped right in front of the tree and knelt down to our level.

**"Korehanandesuka?"**

_"Oh gods, no..!"_

Of all the people we could've run into it had to be Orochimaru.

"Aims, who is this guy?" I heard Dominic ask. I leaned over to him, keeping my eyes on said man before us as I didn't trust him one bit and with good reason, this guy's a twisted creep.

"That's Orochimaru. He's one of the legendary Sannin, he used to live in Konoha before turning rogue. Very dangerous and very strong, that's all you need to know for now." I whispered as quietly as I could despite knowing he couldn't understand what I was saying. My friend's grey eyes narrowed at the older male with a guarded frown.

**"Dono yō ni ore no namae o shitte imasu ka?"** Orochimaru asked, his voice causing me to jump and stared at him with wide eyes. Crap, I forgot that ninjas have better than average hearing, he must've picked up his name while I was speaking.I said nothing, simply staring at him keeping a firm hold on my pet. **"Naze futari wa koko ni imasu ka?"** Another question that we neither understood nor bothered answering. A frown was starting to form on the man's pale face, golden yellow eyes narrowing at the lack of answers he wasn't getting.

I also took note that from his voice, he sounded more like his English dub version than his original Japanese dub.

"We can't understand what you're sayin'." I said lowly and truthfully, giving him my usual blank stare. The shinobi's eyes widened somewhat as well as raising an eyebrow at me upon hearing me speak my native language. Orochimaru had smirk slowly making its way on to his face which I did not like, that could only mean that he's gonna try and do something to us. My whole form tensing and my eyes zeroing in on the pale hand that reached into our shelter.

I bared my teeth and hissed at him, hoping that that would give him some kind of warning not to get any closer to us. His hand paused for a moment before slowly reaching forward again.

_"I warned 'im."_ My right hand shot out at his hand and I raked my nails down the back of the appendage which quickly he drew back and examined. My nails weren't sharp so the most he'd get were a few red lines and maybe a slight sting. I watched him for a reaction, expecting him to glare at me yet he did no such thing, he still had that slimy smirk and the man actually began to chuckle.

**"Hmhmhm.. oitsume dōbutsu no yō ni tosshin."** He stared at me for a moment before looking at Dominic who held his gaze with a slightly unsettled stare of his own, then back to me. After a few seconds, I hissed at him again hoping he would take a bloddy hint and go away. The pale man laughed one more time before getting up and walking to the left, out of our line of sight. I didn't even realise that I was holding my breath until I sighed in relief, a cry from Sooty who had been silent throughout the whole thing made me realise that I'd also unconsciously tightening my hold on him. My right hand went to pet him as an apology to which he responded with a satisfied purr.

"Bloody 'ell, that was scary." Dominic admitted quietly. 'Hn' was my response. "Is he gone?" The rain had eased up tremendously, the drops of water still falling were from what had slid off the leaves above. I shuffled forward while keeping arm cradled around my pet. Slowly, carefully, I poked my head out to scan the area. Nothing. For extra measure I stared at the trees for any hidden discolouration, I twisted my upper torso so in could peer into the branches of the tree we were staying in. Nothing.

"Well... he's outta sight but that doesn't mean he's actually gone. Remember, he's a ninja so could be hiding anywhere." I reported back. Nervously crawling out into the open and plopping the tiny cat back into my hood, my other human companion following quickly after.

"If that Oro... Whatever 'is name is is dangerous as you say then I'll take your word for it, and I agree that we should be extra careful. But what possible 'arm would he do to us? We're just kids."

"Yeah but Orochimaru also recruits children as his henchmen because they're easier to manipulate and he also does experiments on people. He's basically this world's version of Dr. Mengele!" I explained to him. He snorted and gave a short laugh, and to be honest, I couldn't help but chuckle anorl even though I was trying to be serious. Once the seriousness had set back in, Dominic said,

"Alright, so he's dangerous and a bit of a loony and we shouldn't be anywhere near 'im. Got it. Let's just keep our guard up and run if we see 'im... even though he could probably outrun us."

"Hn." I confirmed with a nod, although I didn't show it I was dreading what would happen if we ran into him again. I took out my phone and pressed a button to activate the lock screen, the time read '11:12'. I pocketed the device with a sigh, readjusting the strap of my satchel to sit more firmly on my right shoulder.

_"*sighs* Today's gonna be a long day."_ I lamented as we once again continued to our destination.

* * *

(3rd Person POV)

Golden, almost glowing yellow eyes watched the children walk off further into the forest from their position a few feet away. The whistling had attracted Orochimaru's attention as he was on his way back to his hideout, so upon investigating he thought it most peculiar to find two children no older than four years old, and with no sign of parents in the middle of the woods. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't a little suspicious.

Orochimaru had many questions running through his head, like where exactly did these children come from? They wore strange clothes that were obviously much too big for them, both had extremely pale skin but most of all what caught him off guard was the language they spoke. He'd never heard anything like it, he knew that Japanese was the universal language yet this was a completely foreign, intelligent language. Is there a country he didn't know about that spoke in this strange tongue? And that device the girl had was equally strange, especially with the cord coming out of it. He didn't know what it was for but assumed that it must serve some purpose.

Then there were the kids themselves, specifically the girl. When he found them, he noticed that in that vacant stare there was instant recognition alongside nervousness and hateful glint. And despite her almost inaudible tone, he could pick out his name, 'Sannin' and 'Konoha' in her speech. Sure he's known as one of the Legendary Sannin but no child this young should know about him, and neither her nor her friend looked to be in the Academy. Then there were their reactions to him, they were wary, guarded, aggressive even, especially with the little brunette. Her reaction was as strange as it was amusing, hissing and clawing at his hand like a trapped animal.

And when she peeked out as he hid, she was scanning carefully, even checking the very tree they were sheltered in? This girl knew him, she knew just how dangerous he was and now her friend knows too. This made him all the more suspicious yet at the same time equally curious. There was just one more thing that piqued his interest most.

He couldn't sense any chakra within either of them or in the kitten. If the man's assumption was correct in that they weren't even training to be ninja then they couldn't possibly know how to mask chakra, even then small amounts could still be sensed. How could that be possible? Every living thing has chakra, the only way one could have no chakra is if they were dead. Yet those three are alive and look healthy enough. All of this made no sense, and yet it roused his curiosity to the fullest.

A fanged grin crept across his face, eyes narrowing as his features took on a predatory expression. Three specimens living without a chakra system? A very intriguing prospect. Maybe he should follow them for a while, perhaps finding some clues as to where they were headed. But there was also the question of **how** they got here, so he should also check in with nearby villages to determine their origin.

"How very interesting." Orochimaru remarked. Bending his knees, he sprang up, leaping into the trees and began to tail the trio amongst the branches, minding to keep a safe distance.

* * *

_**Korehanandesuka?**__ = What do we have here?_

_**Dono yō ni ore no namae o shitte imasu ka? **__= How do you know my name?_

_**Naze futari wa koko ni imasu ka?**__ = Why are you two here?_

_**Oitsume dōbutsu no yō ni tosshin**__ = Lunging like cornered animals._

_**Another chapter out of the way. Ow many of you were expectin' to see one of the original Naruto characters featured so early in the story? Surprised ya there, huh? Again to anyone out there, if the Japanese sentences I'm using aren't making sense or are incorrect please notify me and tell me how to correct them.**_

_**Remember to leave a review please. Until next time.**_


	7. Safe and Sound

Chapter 7: Safe and Sound

The sky was turning a very vibrant orange signalling the approach of nightfall. The receding sun shone a small amount of light on to the trees, casting stretched, large shadows across the forest floor.

"It's gettin' dark now." Dominic commented.

"Hn." I grunted, couldn't be bothered to reply properly.

"Maybe we should go find somewhere where we can sleep for the night." He suggested. My arms tensed in irritation.

We've been walking all day and we don't seem to be any closer to getting to Konoha, it just felt like we've been wandering aimlessly. Actually that's most likely what we've been doing, seeing as we don't have a compass or anything to help us. My feet hurt, I ate the last of my share of the food and I'm still hungry, my shoulder was killing me and I refuse to sleep out in the wilderness where anything could get us while we slept.

"No. We've gotta keep goin'." I protested. Dom stopped and so did I shortly after, I looked at him expectantly and he returned it with a tired and frustrated expression.

"Goin'? We don't know if this is the right way we're goin' in! It's been hours since we left that other village and it feels like we an't made any progress!" My friend complained, controlling the frustration I assumed he was feeling. He took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking again. "I think it might be a good idea to find somewhere to rest for a bit. We're both tired and we know it."

Well, no doubt about that but where would we actually stay?

"Yeah, I'm tired but where would we stay? I an't seen a tree 'ollow since the one we stayed in earlier, and remember," I leaned in a little and said in a more quiet tone, "Orochimaru could still be out 'ere." He glanced around, searching for any human figures lurking in the tree lines. With a sigh he turned back to me,

"Alright, we'll keep on walkin' but can we at least av a sit down? Me feet are killin' me." He almost whined. That I completely agreed to so we just collapsed at the nearest tree with sighs of relief. Sooty's not purred or fidgeted for a while, I noted. He must be asleep, I reached into my hood and felt around for his velvety fur, softly stroking it so as not to wake him up. I heard a slight purr and felt a little bit of movement before it settled again. I smiled a little, at least he's here with me, where I can still look after him.

"Aims?" I turned to him, "Just a thought that's been bouncing 'round me ed, what are we gonna do when we get to Konoha?"

"... Dunno. Didn't think that far ahead." I admitted. What were we gonna do when we got there? Like in the last village, nobody's going to want to hire kids who can't speak their language. If it's anything like our world then most people will give us a quick glance before carrying on with their day. However, if someone does actually get curious or concerned enough to approach us then we might get placed into an orphanage or something. Logically speaking, that may be more of a possibility especially since we've got no adults with us and Konohagakure is a much bigger and developed village.

Neither of us spoke for a while, apparently we were becoming too tired to make conversation. My eyelids lowered a little as I gave a big yawn, I must be more exhausted than I originally thought. Leaning on my satchel, I craned my head back to look at the leaves. They hardly moved, and from what I could see through the breaks that a hint of blue was starting to settle in. Seeing this, I took my phone out and checked the time. I sighed in disbelief - 5:50? Eight hours?! You must be joking. That's the longest I've ever walked in my entire life, no wonder we're knackered!

"Dom?" When I got no response I looked to my left and found that Dominic had dozed off. Head tilted back, mouth hanging slightly open and a snore rumbling out. My eyes moved to stare at the darkening scenery, it was nice but I'm already missing my warm house. Especially my comfy bed.

I never take naps unless I'm sick but it's very tempting right now. I quickly scanned around the area as well as peeking around to check the back of our tree for any wild animals or Orochimaru. No sign of anything.. yet. Maybe he has left us alone.

_"I'll rest my eyes. Just for a minute."_ My eyes drooped shut as I made myself comfortable on my satchel, using my arms as pillows. A sigh slipped from me. _"Just for a minute..."_

* * *

As the last few rays of sunlight dwindled, leaves rustled, and branches shook as a three-man shinobi team made its way through the maze of plants.

"How much further until we get to the village gate?" One of them whined.

"About ten minutes. Now quit griping, we're almost home!" Another snapped back, becoming annoyed at how many times he's heard the same question since halfway through their trek. The third member, a kunoichi, chuckled at them. She kept her eyes on where she was going but soon made a brief stop upon spotting something in the lower corner of her vision.

"Hey, hold on!" The female of the trio ordered. Two men stopped on the branches to look back at her, "Look." She was staring down at something on the forest floor. They followed her gaze and in the dim light they saw two unmoving figures slumped against one of the many trees just a couple of metres away.

The group gave each other wary glances before the woman jumped from her perch, landing silently on the ground. She slowly approached the two while her comrades looked on, readying themselves in case this was some sort of trap. Once she got close enough, her eyes widened at them - these were children. Very young ones at that, blissfully sleeping and snoring away. She turns and signals her team mates to come down, which they do and approach her, also becoming surprised at their finding.

"What are a couple of kids doing out here?" One of the men asked to no one in particular.

"They can't be older than four. Are they lost?" The other said in hoarse voice, taking a step closer to inspect them. The kunoichi did the same, she knelt down to look over their conditions. The young boy and girl looked a little roughed up, smudges of dirt on their faces, their clothes being in a worse state of filthiness as well as looking too big for them. Her nose twitched at the smell they had; like rain, earth and garbage. Other than feeling a little cold, they seemed to be otherwise healthy.

Seeing as there didn't seem to be any adults with them, she assumed them to be homeless. Possibly orphans. An expression of sadness and pity flashed across her face. How long have they been like this? Where did they come from? She hasn't seen anyone like them back home so perhaps they were from another place.

"Should we take them back to the village? It's better than leaving them out here where they might get sick." The hushed voice of her team mate broke her out of her thoughts. She glanced at him before turning her attention back to the still sleeping toddlers, then back to the man.

"Good idea. We should get them to the hospital too, they could be injured too." Kushina agreed, she then picked up the small brunette and positioned her so she was being cradled. The fabric of the child's oversized coat scuffing against her flack jacket. "Haruki, you and me will carry them. Shigure, can you carry their bags?" Haruki picked up the small boy while Shigure went to pick up their belongings, although with the tiniest bit of difficulty.

"Kami, these things weigh a ton!" Shigure grunted as he affixed them to his shoulders. When he looked to his team he noticed that they had the same expressions - confusion.

"Kushina-chan, Haru, what's wrong?" He asked, wanting to know the reason for their behaviour.

"No chakra..." Haruki rasped.

"What?"

"I'm not sensing any chakra from them." The hoarse man repeated a little louder.

"Me neither." Kushina responded.

"That's impossible. If they have no chakra then they wouldn't be breathing, they would be dead!" Shigure scoffed at them.

"Okay, then you try and sense their chakra." Kushina sassed, motioning at the kids. Shigure walked a little closer and did as he was dared, he focused on the girl first before moving to the male and tried looking for any signs of said energy but to his disbelief, there was none. He hesitantly relayed his findings to the other two grown ups, actually believing them.

A rustling noise from the little girl's coat caught the adults' attention, they watched as a kittens head popped out. It yawned, showing off its tiny teeth before looking around sleepily, the sleepy look became alert at the sight of unfamiliar people, his small eyes beginning to have that reflective shine in the growing darkness. The red-haired woman looked surprised before smiling softly at the animal, steadily she lifted a finger to its ear and began to scratch. The action elicited a quiet purr that slowly became louder.

"There's no chakra in this little guy either." The red-headed woman commented. All three stared at the cat who was happily purring at the scratching behind his ears, each ninja baffled by the fact that it and the presumable owners were very much alive.

"We'd better leave right now, Lord Hokage's not going to believe this." With a couple of nods, the shinobi leapt back into the tree tops, heading in the direction of the Hidden Leaf. A pair of yellow eyes watched them leave before turning and disappearing deeper into the woods.

* * *

**Here's your Christmas present; the newest chapter of Wisdom of the Soul and our characters finally arriving in Konohagakure!**

**I fear that it may be a little rushed but I was trying to get it done as soon as possible.**

**Rather short, I know, but the second year of my Uni course has been really hectic with projects having to be done within a short time limit, and having to get the first draft of a 3500 word essay done and submitted on time. Writing it was quite fun because I chose the topic, it was mainly the research gathering and getting the last sections finished that drained me.**


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